Method of making cloth and mechanism therefor



Feb. 26 1924. 1,485,059;

F. B. STEARNS METHOD OF MAKING CLIOTH AND MECHAN ISM THEREFOR Filed March 24, 1922 2 sheets sheetl ZZ% zo 5 58 1 35 Im/era 2" OT:

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. I; to??? Patented Feb. 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES FREDERICK B. STEAR'NS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF MAKING CLOTH AND MECHANISM THEREFOR.

Application filed March 24,1922. Serial No. 546,359.

T 0 all whom it -may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK B. S'rnARNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vorcester, in the county of lVorcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Method of Making Cloth and Mechanism Therefor, of which the following, together with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to the manufacture of cloth, and has for its object to provide an improved method of making cloth, and a mechanism for conveniently carrying out the method.

In the manufacture of textiles it is often desired to produce clot-h which has a durable wearing surface on one side and a comparatively heavy covering of wool or other loose material on the other side thereof for the purpose of adding warmth to the cloth. Cloth of this general description is highly desirable for outdoor garments, in which lightness in weight and durability are of prime importance.

It has heretofore been customary to produce material having the above described properties by first knitting or weaving it on an ordinary knitting machine or a loom, and then napping one or both sides of the material-to obtain a loose or fleece-like efi'ect. Obviously, the napping necessitates the tearing or pulling apart of the fibres constituting the threads of which the material isformed, with a resulting loss in its strength and durability. It has also been proposed to make the above described material by sewing or otherwise attaching wool or other loose material to one side ofthe previously woven fabric, but this procedure has been found to be unsatisfactory, owing to the fact that the loose material is very likely to be torn off when subjected to hard usage.

According to the present invention I pro.- pose to provide an improved method of making cloth, whereby the loose wool or other material is incorporated in the cloth and made an integral part thereof as the fabric is woven by a loom in the ordinary manner. My invention further contemplates the addition of certain auxiliary mechanism to an ordinary loom, whereby my improved method may be conveniently carried on. s

The above, and other advantageous features of my invention will hereinafter more fully appear, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. l is a view in end elevation of a loom provided with mechanism for carrying out my improved method. a

Fig. 2 is a view vin front elevation of the loomfshown in Fig. 1. V

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of my improved mechanism removed from the loom, with the parts in a different position from that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. at is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 3, illustrating a modification of my mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the parts of the modified mechanism in a different position. w

r Fig. 6 is a sectional view along the line 6-6, Fig. 1, illustrating the form of the loose material before being woven into the cloth. v r

Fig. 7. is a sectional view along the line 77, Fig. 1, illustrating the form of the cloth, as it comes from the loom.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view of'a portion of the loom as viewed from the rear.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the loom generally comprises a frame 1 upon which a lay 2 is pivotally supported by lay swords 3, mounted on a cross shaft 1. The lay 2 is reoipr-ocated by means of a crank5 driven from a power shaft 6 and connected to the lay swords 8 by means of connecting rods 7 The warp. threads 8 are led to the by from a suitabl warp beam '9, and pass through the harnesses, not shown, for the sake of clearness, andbetween the wires 10, of areed, in the usual manner. Theparts described thus far form no part of the present invention, and are merely shown to indicate an ordinary form of loom to which my invention may be applied. v

As best shown in Fig. 1, the upper rear portion of the lay beam 2 is cut away, as indicated at 11, to provide a space beneath the reed, a portion offthe race-plate 12 being cut away flush with the edge of the space. 11. A web or sheet of wool, or other loose material 13, passes beneatha rod 1 1,

the ends of which are received in slots 15 provided in uprights ,15 carried "by the frame 1 and extends upwardly into the space 11 in the lay beam 2, from where it is carried with and beneath the warp threads 8 over the breast beam to the take-up roll 16, as will be hereinafter described. The'lower need rod 17 is supported in the space 11 by means of a bar 18, provided on one edge with a longitudinal groove 19, of substantially the same shape as the rod 17. The

ends of the bar 18 are secured to the layswords 3 beyond the ends of the space 11, as best shown in Fig. 8, so that there is nothing in the space 11 to interfere with the passage of thematerial 13 therethrough.

A shaft 20 .is rotatably supported in brackets 21 carried by the end portions of the frame and is adapted to be driven from a' suitable source of power, not shown, bya belt 22 passing around a pulley 23. A pair of spaced arms 2% are loosely mounted on the shaft20and serve to rotatably support a shaft 25,. upon which is mounted a cylinder 26. The surface of the cylinder 26 is covered with bristles 27, which may be arranged in any desired form and which arecomposed of hair, fine wire, or any other stiff',material. The shaft 25 is adapted to be driven from the shaft 20, by means of belts or chains 25 passing around pulleys 29 and 80 provided at the respective ends of the shafts20 and 25. The shaft 25 is further connected, by means of links 31, to the cross member 32, which carries the upper reedrod 33-, thelinks 31 being free to turn on pivot pins 3 1. In this way the brush cylinder 26 is adapted to follow the oscil latorymovement of the lay, which isshown in its forward position in Fig. 1, and in its rearward position in fulllines in Fig. 3. Having thus described the various parts entering into my improved method, the operation thereof is as follows: The ordinary parts of the loom shown in Figs. 1 and 2 operate in the usual manner to cause the shuttle to lay a weft thread 35 across the warp each time thelay 2 occupies its rearward position, as shownin full lines in Fig. 3,,and each weft thread thus laid will be beat up into the fabric when the lay moves to its forward position, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 3fand in full lines in Fig. 1. Asthelay moves to its rearward position, the continuously rotating brush cylinder 26 will be moved therewith by the links 3 1, to cause the bristles27 of the brush to pass betweenthe warp threads 8 and engage the upper surface of; the material 13, as clearly shown in 3. The fibres of the material 13 are engaged bythe bristles 27 and drawn through the wrap threadsS, this action oc curring either in advance of, simultaneously with, for even after the laying of a weft thread as the shuttle passes from one side of the loom to the other, dependent upon the amount of material to be drawn through.

As the lay 2 starts on its forward beat, the brush cylinder 26 is moved away from the fabric to disengage the bristles therefrom, and as the lay 2 completes its forward beat, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the last laid weft thread, together with the drawn through fibres of the material 13, are beat up into the warp and thus become an integral part of the fabric. It is apparent that the above described action will be repeated each time the lay makes a complete movementbackward and forward. As the lay 2 moves back and forth, the rod 1 1, being free to move in the slots 15, serves to maintain the material 13' at an even tension.

In this way a portion of the material 13 is is continuously woven into'the fabric with the weft and warp threads 8 and 35, the fibres ;ofthe material 13 extending'through the fabric substantially at right angles to the plane of the threads 8 and 35, as best shown in Fig. 7. As the weaving progresses, the completed cloth is wound on the take-up roll 16 in the same manner as an ordinary plain fabric, the material 13 then forming an integral part of the completed cloth. In order to vary the degree to which the 'fibres of the material 13 are drawn through the warp by'the'brush roll-26,'the length of the arms .24 is made adjustable by providing screw threads 36 which are received in collars" 37 and 38 provided on the shafts 20, and 25, respectively. Obviously, the greater the length of the arms 24:, the more the fibres of the material 13 will be drawn through the wrap by the cylinderj26. Further adjustment of the cylinder 26 is provided by the bolts 3.9 which carry the pivot pins 34: for supporting thelinlrsfil. Nuts 40 coacting withthe bolts 39 permit the position of the pivot pins 341 to be readily varied on the member 32. By adjusting the throw'of the brush cylinder 26, as described above, cloth may be produced in which the material '13 may be made to cover either one or both sides of the fabric toany desired thickness, the fibres of the material 13, in any case, being closely interwoven with the weft and warp threads of the fabric. It is obvious that any kind of weft or warp thread can be employed in the weaving, and that any material having relatively loose fibres can be employed. Cloth of-any desired widthcan be made-by employing a race-plate 12 in which the width of the cutg-away portion some sponds to the width o'f thematerial 13. (Dbv'iously, a loom whichh-als; been employed to directly on the cross member 32 by means of arms 42. With this arrangement, the arc of movement of the lay 2 is depended upon to move the brush into and out of engagement with the material 13. When the lay moves backward for the laying of a weft thread, the bristles of the brush cylinder 41 engage the material 13, as shown in F ig. 5, and when the forward movement of the lay causes the brush 41 to move about the axis of the rock shaft 4, the bristles of the brush draw the fibres of the material 13 through the warp in substantially the same manner as described with reference to Figs. 1 and 3. Obviously, other modifications may be conceived of for drawing the fibres of the material 13 through the warp in coordination with the movement of the lay, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Broadly stated, my invention contemplates an improved method of making cloth, which consists in drawing the fibres of some loose material between the warp threads between the beating up of successively laid weft threads, whereby both the drawn through fibres and the weft threads are woven into the fabric and whereby that portion of the loose material which has not been drawn through the warp also becomes firmly affixed to and an integral part of the fabric. My invention further contemplates mean whereby the amount which the fibres are drawn through the warp may be varied to produce cloth in which the loose material may cover either one or both sides of the woven fabric; to any desired thickness.

lVhile I have shown a specific mechanism applied to a particular type of loom for carrying out my invention, it is obvious that this and other modified mechanisms may be applied to other types of lOOIIls for carrying out the principles of my method without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I desire therefore that only such limitations be imposed thereon as may come within thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The improvement in the art of making cloth, which consists in weaving a fabric and drawing the fibres of a. loose material into the warp between the beating up of successively laid weft threads.

2. The improvement in the art of making cloth, which consists in weaving a fabric and drawing the fibres of a continuous strip of loose material into the warp in advance of the beating up of a weft thread.

3. The improvement in the art of making cloth, which consists in weaving a fabric and drawing the fibres of a loose material between the warp threads in advance of the laying of a weft thread.

4:. The improvementin the art of making cloth, which consists in weaving a fabric with the fibres of a continuous strip 'of loose material held between the warp and weft threads thereof.

5. The improvement in the art of making cloth, which consists in weaving a fabric with the fibres of a loose material extending between the warp and weft threads thereof.

6. The improvement in the art of making cloth which consists in weaving a fabric and attaching a loose material thereto by drawing the fibres of the material between the warp and weft threads of the fabric.

7. The improvement in the art ofmaking cloth, which consists in weaving afabric and attaching a loose material thereto by drawing the fibres of the material between the warp threads in adv'ance of the beating up of a weft thread.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a lay carrying a reed and a warp passing through the reed, of means for drawing the fibres of a loose material through the warp in advance of the laying of the weft.

9. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with a lay carrying a reed and a warp passing through the reed, of means for drawing the fibres of a'loose material through the warp in advance of the laying of the weft, and further means for varying the amount which the said fibres are drawn through the warp.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a lay carrying a reed, a warp passing through the reed and a strip of loose material passing through the lay beneath the reed, of means for drawing fibre-s of the said material through the warp between the beating up of successively laid I weft threads.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a lay carrying a reed, a warp passing through the reed and a strip of loose material passing through the lay beneath the reed, of means for drawing fibres of said material through the warp and further means for varying the amount which the said fibres are drawn through the 1 beneath the reed, of means for drawing fibres of the said material through the warp in advance of the laying of a weft. thread.

13. In a machine of the class described,

the combination with a laycarrying a reed, a warp passing through the reed and a strip of loose material passing through the lay beneath the reed, of means actuated by movement of the lay for drawing fibres of the saidmaterial through the warp.

14. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a lay carrying a reed,

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a warp passingbhrough thereed and a strip of loose material passing through the lay beneath the reed of a brush actuated by movement of the lay for drawing the fibres of the said material through the warp.

15. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a lay carrying a reed, a warp passing through the reed and a strip of loose material passing through the lay beneath the reed, of a brush actuated by movement of the lay for drawing the fibres of the said material through the warp, and means for varying the amount which the said fibres are drawn through the warp by the said brush.

16. In a loom, a lay provided with a recess extending longitudinally thereof and a bar extending across said recess and provided with a groove for receiving the lower reed rod.

17. In a loom, a lay provided with a recess extending longitudinally thereof and a grooved bar extending across said recess for receiving the lower reed rod, the said bar being supported at its ends by the lay Swords. v

18. In a machine of the class described, the rco nbinationwith a lay carrying a reed, a Warp passing through the reed and means for laying a weft thread in the warp, of means for drawing the fibres of a loose material into the warp between the laying of successive weft threads, whereby the drawn through fibres are incorporated in the fabric by the beating up of the last laid weft thread.

19. The improvement in the art of making cloth which consists in weaving a fabric and drawing the fibres of a loose material into the Warp between thelaying of successive weft threads, whereby the drawn through fibres are incorporated in the fabric by the beating up of the last laid Weft thread.

FREDERICK B; STEARNS. 

